Sunday, January 30, 2011
Boys Basketball: Washington’s inside presence too much for Lowell
Boys Basketball: Washington’s inside presence too much for Lowell
Saturday, January 22, 2011
By Ernest Stone
While Washington’s go-to scorers are clearly senior guards Jeremy Jetton and Brenden Glaipon, fellow seniors LeVander Moore and Galen Hall are beginning to lay claim as a dynamic duo in their own right.
While Moore and Hall combined for just eight points on Friday night at Kezar Pavilion, they combined for 30 rebounds and five blocks, dominating the interior and leading the Eagles to a 53-49 league win over rival Lowell in Academic Athletic Association play.
Washington senior forward LeVander Moor rises up for a contested shot in the lane against Lowell on Friday at Kezar Pavilion. (Photo by Devin Chen)
“Everybody on our team plays big and fast,” said Moore, who finished with seven points and 18 rebounds. “We are extremely athletic and it’s an identity we’ve had all year.”
Early on, Lowell’s (13-6, 5-1) execution of its motion offense neutralized the Eagles’ physical advantages.
Five Lowell players scored in the first half, while Glaipon shouldered most the load for the Eagles, with 10 of their 26 first-half points.
“I thought we matched up very well,” said Lowell head coach Robert Ray. “They have some talented players and we slowed them down. I mean, 53-49 is the type of score we would like to play to every time.”
Unfortunately for Ray’s squad, Moore and Hall’s ability to clean up the glass allowed Washington (13-8, 5-1) to capitalize on several second-chance opportunities. The multiple opportunities greatly benefited Jetton, who finished the game strong with 10 second-half points.
Although Lowell continued to counter Washington’s man-to-man offense with its balanced passing schemes, Cardinals senior Casey Chow managed to take over with three three-point shots in the third quarter to put Lowell ahead for the first time since the first frame.
But the additional threat of Kenneth Lui, who scored eight points off the Washington bench, along with the Eagles’ dominant rebounding, proved to be too much, as the Eagles built a lead that they would cling on to for the remainder of the third quarter and through the end of the game.
“As is what happens a lot of times, you expend all this energy to get back in the game, and once you are there, you take a step back,” Ray said. “Against Washington, you can’t take that step back, and we found that out tonight.”
Lowell’s loss to Washington is just its first defeat in AAA play this season.
With their four-point win following a 23-point blowout of Mission earlier this week, the Eagles have proven they can win in a variety of ways. Next week, Washington will look to register a complete effort against Galileo on the road.
“Our role players stepped up today, and that’s always a welcome sign,” said Washington head coach Jolinko Lassiter. “Our guys always do a great job of playing to their strengths, and I don’t see anything changing.”
Scoring Leaders
Washington
Jeremy Jetton – 16
Brenden Glapion – 14
Kenneth Lui – 8
LeVander Moore – 7
Austin Hedani – 3
Lowell
Casey Chow – 12
Jorell Cacatian – 10
Jackson Miao – 8
Ricco Price – 7
Avery Nicastro-Aikman – 4
Thursday, January 20, 2011
Washington bounces back to rout Mission on the road
Boys Basketball: Washington bounces back to rout Mission on the road
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
By Bonta Hill
Going into its Academic Athletic Association Lang Division contest against Mission High School, Washington was looking to put together a complete game, something that its has struggled to do this season.
That all changed Tuesday, as the visiting Eagles made a huge statement by dismantling the Bears 89-66 on their home floor.
Washington seniors Jeremy Jetton (left) and LeVander Moore (right) trap Mission forward Alec Tatum in the key on Tuesday at the Mission High School. (Photo by Eric Soracco)
Brenden Glapion had a game-high 29 points, Jeremy Jetton had another solid all-around game with 28 points, five rebounds and five assists, but it was the play of center LeVander Moore that set the tone for Washington (12-8, 3-1). Moore was the unsung hero, as his double-double (13 points and 20 rebounds) included seven rebounds on the offensive end, to go along with four steals, which helped the Eagles lead throughout the contest against the defending AAA champions.
While Washington has been prone to blow double-digit leads this season, head coach Jolinko Lassiter reminded his team at halftime to finish strong.
“Every time you can get a division win, especially a big road win like this, we had to earn it coming off a tough loss to [Lincoln],” Lassiter said. “It’s been an Achilles heel of ours to give up leads, but the guys played well tonight and we put together a full 32 minutes for once.”
For Mission (9-9, 2-1), the game was a huge letdown. The Bears were sloppy all night, finishing with 21 turnovers, and struggled from the field shooting just over 33 percent in the game, including 22 percent in the first half that led to a 40-25 Washington lead.
“We were not very good tonight,” said Mission head coach Arnold Zelaya. “It’s kind of been up anddown all year, and this was definitely a down. To be honest, we played like garbage.”
While Mission struggled on offense, Washington had no trouble breaking the Bears vaunted full-court pressure defense.
Moore’s dominance on the glass led to many fast breaks as Jetton and Glapion leaked out for several easy layups.
“I just wanted to give it my all, [because] last Friday [against Lincoln] I didn’t give it my all and I felt I slacked off,” said Moore, who was in foul trouble throughout the contest. “I needed to get myself going today, to set the tone and by my rebounding, I wanted to get everybody pumped, get us in the game, and get us running.”
For the game, Washington shot 58 percent from the floor and led by as many as 26 points in the second half.
The one negative for the Eagles was the 17 turnovers they committed.
“Everybody played as a team, everyone worked together,” Glapion said. “The last two days of practice, everyone was working hard. That just carried onto the court today.”
Antoine Porter led the Bears with 20 points and tried to ignite Mission with 12 second quarter points, but the Bears failed to make any significant dent in the Washington lead.
“I told our team all week that LeVander is tough, and our team knew we had to keep him off the boards,” Zelaya said. “It was real sloppy all along. From shot-selection to shot percentage, it was bad all the way around.”
Scoring Leaders
Washington
Brenden Glapion – 29
Jeremy Jetton -28
LeVander Moore – 13
Kenneth Lui – 6
Galen Hall – 3
Mission
Antoine Porter – 20
Gione Edwards – 10
Miles Prescott – 9
Travis Price-Moku – 8
Shaquille Fisher – 6
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
By Bonta Hill
Going into its Academic Athletic Association Lang Division contest against Mission High School, Washington was looking to put together a complete game, something that its has struggled to do this season.
That all changed Tuesday, as the visiting Eagles made a huge statement by dismantling the Bears 89-66 on their home floor.
Washington seniors Jeremy Jetton (left) and LeVander Moore (right) trap Mission forward Alec Tatum in the key on Tuesday at the Mission High School. (Photo by Eric Soracco)
Brenden Glapion had a game-high 29 points, Jeremy Jetton had another solid all-around game with 28 points, five rebounds and five assists, but it was the play of center LeVander Moore that set the tone for Washington (12-8, 3-1). Moore was the unsung hero, as his double-double (13 points and 20 rebounds) included seven rebounds on the offensive end, to go along with four steals, which helped the Eagles lead throughout the contest against the defending AAA champions.
While Washington has been prone to blow double-digit leads this season, head coach Jolinko Lassiter reminded his team at halftime to finish strong.
“Every time you can get a division win, especially a big road win like this, we had to earn it coming off a tough loss to [Lincoln],” Lassiter said. “It’s been an Achilles heel of ours to give up leads, but the guys played well tonight and we put together a full 32 minutes for once.”
For Mission (9-9, 2-1), the game was a huge letdown. The Bears were sloppy all night, finishing with 21 turnovers, and struggled from the field shooting just over 33 percent in the game, including 22 percent in the first half that led to a 40-25 Washington lead.
“We were not very good tonight,” said Mission head coach Arnold Zelaya. “It’s kind of been up anddown all year, and this was definitely a down. To be honest, we played like garbage.”
While Mission struggled on offense, Washington had no trouble breaking the Bears vaunted full-court pressure defense.
Moore’s dominance on the glass led to many fast breaks as Jetton and Glapion leaked out for several easy layups.
“I just wanted to give it my all, [because] last Friday [against Lincoln] I didn’t give it my all and I felt I slacked off,” said Moore, who was in foul trouble throughout the contest. “I needed to get myself going today, to set the tone and by my rebounding, I wanted to get everybody pumped, get us in the game, and get us running.”
For the game, Washington shot 58 percent from the floor and led by as many as 26 points in the second half.
The one negative for the Eagles was the 17 turnovers they committed.
“Everybody played as a team, everyone worked together,” Glapion said. “The last two days of practice, everyone was working hard. That just carried onto the court today.”
Antoine Porter led the Bears with 20 points and tried to ignite Mission with 12 second quarter points, but the Bears failed to make any significant dent in the Washington lead.
“I told our team all week that LeVander is tough, and our team knew we had to keep him off the boards,” Zelaya said. “It was real sloppy all along. From shot-selection to shot percentage, it was bad all the way around.”
Scoring Leaders
Washington
Brenden Glapion – 29
Jeremy Jetton -28
LeVander Moore – 13
Kenneth Lui – 6
Galen Hall – 3
Mission
Antoine Porter – 20
Gione Edwards – 10
Miles Prescott – 9
Travis Price-Moku – 8
Shaquille Fisher – 6
Boys Basketball: Washington holds off Marshall comeback in overtime
Boys Basketball: Washington holds off Marshall comeback in overtime
Friday, January 14, 2011
Washington senior guard Brenden Glapion (center) tries to break through two Marshall defenders on Thursday at Marshall High School. (Photo by Devin Chen)
By Jeremy Balan
After blowing a 22-point second-quarter lead, visiting Washington High School escaped with a 77-70 Academic Athletic Association overtime road win over Marshall on Thursday.
The Eagles (11-7, 3-0) carried a 47-29 lead into the half and withstood a second-half rally by the Phoenix (7-9, 2-2) in front of a standing-room-only crowd.
Marshall junior forward Theoatis Hill rises up for a rebound against Washington on Thursday at Marshall High School. (Photo by Devin Chen)
Washington pulled off the win, but at the end of regulation the Phoenix looked to be keyed for the upset.
Down 66-64 with nine seconds remaining, Marshall senior guard Travalle Johnson took the ball up the court, slipped and lost the ball. Marshall forward Theoatis Hill went to the floor and wrestled the ball away from a Washington defender, then, while still on the floor, he found a streaking Johnson, who hit a floating runner in the key at the buzzer to send the game to overtime.
As exciting as the finish in regulation was, the gym quickly deflated in the overtime period on an ending to the game that was equally anticlimactic and unfortunate. With just under three minutes remaining in overtime and Marshall trailing 71-68, junior Arthur Captain was the fourth Marshall player to foul out of the game, forcing the Phoenix to finish with only four players.
Washington simply wound down the clock and added six more points on free throws and the undermanned Phoenix wouldn’t threaten again.
“We’ve been playing with five or six guys the majority of the season, so tonight we had a luxury with eight, but ended up with four at the end,” said Marshall head coach Dezebee Miles. “All I can say is that I have a great bunch of guys and all we can do is keep pushing forward and do the best we can.”
Washington standout senior guard Brenden Glapion led all scorers with 33 points, but it was an all-around performance from fellow senior guard Jeremy Jetton that may have been the difference.
Jetton added 25 points, but after forward LeVander Moore dealt with foul trouble early, he took over the responsibilities of guarding Hill, who may be the most dynamic scorer in the AAA.
Hill came into the game averaging more than 23 points per game, and finished above his average with 25 points, but the undersized Jetton held him to 7-of-25 shooting from the floor.
“It was his decision [to guard Hill],” said Washington head coach Jolinko Lassiter. “Once LeVander came out of the game, Jeremy took over and did a great job on him. We know [Hill] will get his, but we did a good job of making it difficult on him.”
Lassiter wasn’t happy about letting the Phoenix back into the game, but knows Marshall is one of the toughest places to win in the AAA.
“Marshall is just one of those teams that always plays well against us,” Lassiter said. “Today, we knew they were going to make their run, but it was good to go out in overtime, stay composed and win the game.”
Scoring Leaders
Washington
Brenden Glapion – 33
Jeremy Jetton – 25
Galen Hall – 6
Johnny Fu – 5
LeVander Moore – 4
Marshall
Theoatis Hill – 25
Travalle Johnson – 24
Arthur Captain – 9
Mark Alexander – 5
Malik Ngumezi – 4
Boys Basketball: Lincoln remains undefeated in AAA with win over Washington
Boys Basketball: Lincoln remains undefeated in AAA with win over Washington
Saturday, January 15, 2011
Lincoln senior center Kevork Demirjian rises up for a jump shot against Washington on Friday night at Washington High School. (Photo by Devin Chen)
By Jeremy Balan
In the game that was supposed to be played on the day of Mike Gragnani’s funeral, the Mustangs honored their late head coach with yet another win, this time against what may be the best team in the Academic Athletic Association.
The visiting Mustangs stunned Washington with a 60-54 win on Friday, to remain undefeated in AAA play and since Gragnani’s death.
Washington senior Jeremy Jetton goes up for a long-range jump shot against Lincoln on Friday at Washington High School. (Photo by Devin Chen)
“Mike just preached intensity to these guys and for them to still have it and show it on the court and play the type of basketball he wanted, means a lot,” said Lincoln interim head coach Matt Jackson. “It really shows the impact he had on them. Our hats off to a great teacher, and there’s a big hole in our hearts, but we’re going to keep fighting for him, one game at a time.”
Lincoln was led in scoring by junior guard Chris Young, who had a game-high 19 points on a combination of sleek three-point shooting and hard drives to the basket, but it was a dynamic performance from senior Kevork Demirjian that may have been the difference.
The 6-foot-5 center had a season-high 18 points and attacked the Washington defense inside early, but when the Eagles went to a zone to combat his size, Demirjian’s midrange game flourished and he scored eight points in a crucial third quarter. The Mustangs extended a 31-30 halftime lead to 51-38 after the third.
“I really love it when the midrange game is open, because that’s a big part of my game,” Demirjian said. “If it’s open, I’m going to hit it. We just made some adjustments.”
The Mustangs offense was efficient in the third quarter, but stumbled in the fourth, as frequent turnovers allowed the Eagles to stay within striking distance. But even though the opportunities were there, the Eagles could not put together a significant rally, to the dismay of a Washington crowd that appeared to be ready to explode.
Senior guard Jeremy Jetton led Washington with a game-high 25 points, but it was a frustrating night of uncharacteristically bad shooting from fellow senior Brenden Glapion that hampered the Eagles throughout.
“Everyone else picked up the slack,” said Washington head coach Jolinko Lassiter. “We’re more than just one guy and Jeremy played a great game tonight, just unbelievable.”
Glapion still had 16 points, but the Mustangs held him to just 6-of-23 shooting from the floor.
“We made it hard for Glapion,” Jackson said. “I’m sure he got his points, but nothing for him came easy. We wanted to focus on him and make sure one guy didn’t beat us. We just played great team defense.”
The win puts Lincoln into a first-place tie in the AAA’s loaded Lang Division with defending champion Mission, but when talking to the Mustangs, the focus is still on honoring Gragnani.
“It’s what coach Mike would have wanted us to do and we’re going to do everything in our power to keep his legacy alive,” Demirjian said. “It’s been tough, but we’re trying to play hard for him and stay positive in everything we do.”
Scoring Leaders
Lincoln
Chris Young – 19
Kevork Demirjian – 18
Artrix Thomas – 14
Ares Brown – 7
Nick Young – 33 3
Washington
Jeremy Jetton – 25
Brenden Glapion – 16
Johnny Fu – 7
Galen Hall – 4
LeVander Moore – 2
Saturday, January 15, 2011
Lincoln senior center Kevork Demirjian rises up for a jump shot against Washington on Friday night at Washington High School. (Photo by Devin Chen)
By Jeremy Balan
In the game that was supposed to be played on the day of Mike Gragnani’s funeral, the Mustangs honored their late head coach with yet another win, this time against what may be the best team in the Academic Athletic Association.
The visiting Mustangs stunned Washington with a 60-54 win on Friday, to remain undefeated in AAA play and since Gragnani’s death.
Washington senior Jeremy Jetton goes up for a long-range jump shot against Lincoln on Friday at Washington High School. (Photo by Devin Chen)
“Mike just preached intensity to these guys and for them to still have it and show it on the court and play the type of basketball he wanted, means a lot,” said Lincoln interim head coach Matt Jackson. “It really shows the impact he had on them. Our hats off to a great teacher, and there’s a big hole in our hearts, but we’re going to keep fighting for him, one game at a time.”
Lincoln was led in scoring by junior guard Chris Young, who had a game-high 19 points on a combination of sleek three-point shooting and hard drives to the basket, but it was a dynamic performance from senior Kevork Demirjian that may have been the difference.
The 6-foot-5 center had a season-high 18 points and attacked the Washington defense inside early, but when the Eagles went to a zone to combat his size, Demirjian’s midrange game flourished and he scored eight points in a crucial third quarter. The Mustangs extended a 31-30 halftime lead to 51-38 after the third.
“I really love it when the midrange game is open, because that’s a big part of my game,” Demirjian said. “If it’s open, I’m going to hit it. We just made some adjustments.”
The Mustangs offense was efficient in the third quarter, but stumbled in the fourth, as frequent turnovers allowed the Eagles to stay within striking distance. But even though the opportunities were there, the Eagles could not put together a significant rally, to the dismay of a Washington crowd that appeared to be ready to explode.
Senior guard Jeremy Jetton led Washington with a game-high 25 points, but it was a frustrating night of uncharacteristically bad shooting from fellow senior Brenden Glapion that hampered the Eagles throughout.
“Everyone else picked up the slack,” said Washington head coach Jolinko Lassiter. “We’re more than just one guy and Jeremy played a great game tonight, just unbelievable.”
Glapion still had 16 points, but the Mustangs held him to just 6-of-23 shooting from the floor.
“We made it hard for Glapion,” Jackson said. “I’m sure he got his points, but nothing for him came easy. We wanted to focus on him and make sure one guy didn’t beat us. We just played great team defense.”
The win puts Lincoln into a first-place tie in the AAA’s loaded Lang Division with defending champion Mission, but when talking to the Mustangs, the focus is still on honoring Gragnani.
“It’s what coach Mike would have wanted us to do and we’re going to do everything in our power to keep his legacy alive,” Demirjian said. “It’s been tough, but we’re trying to play hard for him and stay positive in everything we do.”
Scoring Leaders
Lincoln
Chris Young – 19
Kevork Demirjian – 18
Artrix Thomas – 14
Ares Brown – 7
Nick Young – 33 3
Washington
Jeremy Jetton – 25
Brenden Glapion – 16
Johnny Fu – 7
Galen Hall – 4
LeVander Moore – 2
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